Child Life Program at Levine Children's Hospital

It can be scary for anyone in the hospital, but even more so for a child. Our Child Life specialists at Levine Children's Hospital work alongside doctors, nurses and families to help children cope while being in the hospital – and adding in a little bit of fun, whenever possible.

What is a Child Life specialist?

We are trained to provide social and emotional support for hospitalized children, helping explain hospital procedures and treatments in ways they can understand. We use medical play, videos and other distractions to make a child's experience feel safer and more normal, while restoring their sense of control.

As professionals trained to work with children in medical settings, each specialist has a bachelor's or master's degree in the areas of child life, child development, education or a related field. Certified Child Life specialists must successfully complete an internship and pass the certification exam. All Child Life specialists at Levine Children's Hospital are certified by the Child Life Council.

What do Child Life specialists do?

A Child Life specialist's main responsibilities are to:

Increase a child's understanding of their hospital experiences through the introduction of supervised medical play and preparation for procedures